Irene Althea Welch Grissom (December 3, 1873 – July 14, 1965) was the first Poet Laureate of Idaho from 1923 to 1948.

Early life

Irene Althea Welch Grissom was born on December 3, 1873, in

Greeley, Colorado Greeley is the home rule municipality city that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Weld County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,795 at the 2020 United States Census, an increase of 17.12% since the 2010 ...

, the daughter of William Pringle Welch (1834-1893) and Theresa Sobieski Crittenden (1841-1916). She obtained a Pd.B. from Colorado State Teachers’ College in Greeley in 1894; she did post-graduate work in 1927 and a summer school student at

University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. UM reported 10,962 undergraduate and graduate students in the fal ...

in 1934 and at

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

in 1937.

Career

She was a writer and entertainer. She was appointed poet laureate of Idaho by State Governor

Charles C. Moore Charles Calvin Moore (February 26, 1866 – March 19, 1958) was the 13th governor of Idaho, serving from 1923 until 1927. He later served as Commissioner of the General Land Office from 1929 to 1933. Biography Moore was born in Holt County, Mis ...

, in June 1923. She is the author of: * "The Superintendent", published in 1910 and endorsed by the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...

. "The Superintendent" was published by

Alice Harriman Mary Alice Harriman (March 12, 1861 – December 24, 1925) was a poet, author (of poetry, novels, short stories and non-fiction) and publisher. She was called the "only woman publisher in the world" in the 1911 ''Who's Who in the Northwest''. S ...

, whose publishing company originated in Seattle in 1907. * "A Daughter of the Northwest" (1918) * "The Passing of the Desert" (1924), verses * "Verse of the New West" (1931) * "Under Desert Skies, and other verse" (1936) * "Whirling Saws" (1941) * "We Harness a River" (1946) * "Desert Wed: a Story-poem" (1950) * "Under Rocky Mountain Skies" (1952) * "The winds of chance: a story in verse" (1959) * "Kyrics of the West" (1961) * "The Passing of the Sagebrush, and Other Verse" She contributed verses and stories to ''

The Overland Monthly The ''Overland Monthly'' was a monthly literary and cultural magazine, based in California, United States. It was founded in 1868 and published between the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. History The '' ...

'', ''

Outdoor Life ''Outdoor Life'' is an outdoors magazine about camping, fishing, hunting, and survival. It is a sister magazine of ''Field & Stream''. Together with ''Sports Afield'', they are considered the Big Three of American outdoor publishing by Money (m ...

'', '' Outdoor America'', ''

The Lariat ''The Lariat'' is a 1927 short novel by the poet and anthropologist Jaime de Angulo, set in Spanish California. It is reprinted in Bob Callahan, ed. ''A Jaime de Anglo Reader'' (Turtle Island Books, 1974). Plot summary ''The Lariat'' is a story t ...

'', '' Poet's Scroll'', '' A Child's Garden'' and other newspapers of the northwest. She made appearances in recital of verse at University of Idaho, State Conventions of Idaho Women's Club, and more. She was a member of the Idaho Falls Round Table and the Northwest Poetry Society.

Personal life

Irene Welch Grissom lived in Washington, Oregon, Texas, New Mexico and Canada, and moved to Idaho in 1914. On September 2, 1903, she married Charles Meigs Grissom (died in 1935). She lived at

Idaho Falls, Idaho Idaho Falls (Shoshoni language, Shoshoni: Dembimbosaage) is a city in and the county seat of Bonneville County, Idaho, Bonneville County, Idaho, United States. It is the state's largest city outside the Boise metropolitan area. As of the 2020 Un ...

. She died on July 14, 1965, in

Arcadia, California Arcadia is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located about northeast of downtown Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley and at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. It contains a series of adjacent parks consisting of th ...

, and is buried at Rose Hill Cemetery in Idaho Falls, Idaho.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grissom, Irene Welch People from Greeley, Colorado 1873 births 1965 deaths American poets Poets Laureate of Idaho